Transliteration Scheme

vara rAga - rAga cencu kAmbhOji

Tamil Version
Language Version

pallavi
vara rAga layajnulu tAm(a)nucu 1vadarEr(a)yya

anupallavi
2svara jAti 3mUrchana bhEdamul
svAntam(a)ndu 4teliyaka(y)uNDina (vara)

caraNam
5dEh(O)dbhavambagu 6nAdamul
divyamau praNav(A)kAram(a)nE
7dAhamb(e)rugani mAnavul
tyAgarAja nuta(y)EcEru rAma (vara)


Meaning - Gist
O Lord SrI rAma praised by this tyAgarAja!

Word Division - Word-by-word meaning

pallavi
vara rAga layajnulu tAmu-anucu vadarEru-ayya

O Lord (ayya)! People go about prattling (vadarEru) (vadarErayya) that (anucu) they (tAmu) (tAmanucu) are masters (jnulu) of sacred (vara) rAga and laya (layajnulu).


anupallavi
svara jAti mUrchana bhEdamul
svAntamu-andu teliyaka-uNDina (vara)

Even though people might not have experienced (teliyaka uNDina) (literally know) (teliyakayuNDina) the differentiations (bhEdamul) of svara, jAti and mUrchana within (andu) themselves (svAntamu) (svAntamandu),
O Lord SrI rAma! they go about prattling that they are masters of rAga and laya.


caraNam
dEha-udbhavambagu nAdamul
divyamau praNava-AkAramu-anE
dAhambu-erugani mAnavul
tyAgarAja nuta-EcEru rAma (vara)

O Lord rAma praised (nuta) by this tyAgarAja!
those (mAnavul) who do not know (erugani) that all nAda (nAdamul) emanating (udbhavambagu) from the body (dEha) (dEhOdbhavambagu) are the forms (AkAra) of energy (or thirst) (dAhambu) (literally heat) (dAhamberugani) called (anE) the divine (divyamau) OMkAra (praNava) (praNavAkAramanE),
are indeed deceiving (EcEru) (literally tormenting) (nutayEcEru) that they are masters of rAga and laya.


Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
1vadarErayya – vadarErayya SrI rAma.

3mUrchana – mUrchanA.

4teliyakayuNDina – teliyakayuNDi.
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References
2svara jAti – It is not clear whether these words should be taken together or separately. The definition of 'jAti'

"refers to the number of beats in the laghu (a division of the laghu). It can be tishra (3), catusra (4), khaNDa (5), mishra (7), or sankeerna (9). These varieties of laghu make the sapta taaLas into 35"

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3mUrchana – The definition of the term

"a gamaka that involves using the proper shaking required in the raaga that is being performed"

The dictionary meaning is 'cadence', ‘modulation’, 'melody’, ‘the regulated rise or fall of sounds through the grAma of the musical scales’. According to ‘karnAtaka sangIta Sastra’ by SrI AS Panchapakesa Iyer - there are three types of grAma (svara clusters) – Sadjasvara, madhyamasvara, gAndhArasvara – the last being used only for chanting sAma vEda.

“The scales that emerge when each successive note of the scale is made the tonic note and a new set of notes defined from that point. The word is deriving from the root moorcha, meaning unconsciousness. The change of the Shadja in emphasising a note gives the mind an opportunity to take another pathway, which changes the feel of the first Raga that was being performed. This new pathway ends in a new Raga, with redefined relationships among the notes. When Ragas are derived from Moorchanas, the technique is called Moorchana Paddhati.” Source - mUrchana

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6nAda – The normal rendering of the word as ‘sound’ is not very apt.

“The etymological meaning of ‘nada’ is ‘flow of consciousness’ rather than ‘sound’ as being crudely rendered into English. Nada, thus is not taken as a mere ‘material’ sound object, but regarded as the emanation of one's own consciousness. Source – nAda

For a detailed write-up on ‘nAda’

Comments
General - The subject matter of this kRti is ‘Music’. As I am not proficient in music, I may not be able to explain certain terms or I may even be wrong in assuming certain things. Therefore, readers may please excuse me if there are errors. The definitions and meanings of jargons used in the kRti have been quoted from various sources.

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5dEhOdbhavambagu nAdamul – ‘nAda emanating from the body’ - In lalitA sahasra nAma, mother is called ‘parA’, ‘paSyanti’, ‘madhyamA’, ‘vaikharI rUpA’.

“parA – The transcendent Word - above the other lower stages of speech known as paSyanti (speech in the inaudible stage), madhyamA (speech in the middle stage of its expression) and vaikharI (uttered audible speech)”. (Translation by Swami Tapasyananda)

For a discourse of Kanchi Paramacharya Chandrasekharendra Saraswati on ‘parA’, ‘paSyanti’, ‘madhyamA’, ‘vaikhari (Page 30)

According the above discourse, ‘madhyamA’ stage is also called ‘anAhata nAda’. kabIr sings ‘anahat ki Sabd bhajE nirantar’ (anAhata Sabdha is sounding ceaselessly).

OM or praNava comes in ‘vaikhari’ stage and is known as ‘ahata nAda’; sapta svara are derivations or undulations of the ahata nAda – OM – please see kRti 'mOkshamu galadA' – quoted below.

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7dAhambu – The saMskRta word ‘dAha’ means ‘fire’, ‘heat’ etc. However, in telugu, the word specifically denotes thirst (for water etc). In the kRti ‘mOkshamu galadA’, SrI tyAgarAja states –

prANAnala samyOgamu valla
praNava nAdamu sapta svaramulai paraga

“Due to fusion of vital force with fire (energy), the sound of OM has elaborated into sapta svara.”

If we go by the statement in the kRti ‘mOkshamu galadA’, dAhambu will mean ‘fire’ or ‘heat’. However, if we take the meaning of telugu word ‘thirst’, it will mean that the sounds (sapta svara) emanating from the body are indeed the thirst – a natural phenomenon to express oneself.

In the above quoted discourse, Paramacharya states about ‘artha prapancam’ (universe of matter) and ‘Sabdha prapancam’ (universe of sound) – corresponding to modern science’s ‘matter’ and ‘energy’. Accordingly, the word ‘dAha’ has been translated as ‘energy’ and not as ‘fire’ or ‘heat’.
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